A-Ha! German Glass Stovetop

Do you think your German stove is broken? Is only the inner part of your burner working? Have no fear; we have an “A-ha!” fix for that!

Modern German stoves often have a glass-top stove. They’re just like the American glass stovetops with a twist!

Many of the burners have two options: one for a smaller radius pot and then a second larger setting. But how do you switch back and forth? The solution is easy and once you’ve done it once you’ll never remember struggling.

When you turn the nob on, it will automatically just heat the inner smaller radius. One common way to switch to the larger radius is on the same knob. Just past the highest setting is a toggle to switch to the larger radius. Turn the knob to the toggle icon and then adjust the heat. (Shown on right) Easy!

On my stove the knob will adjust the radius on two of the burners and on the other two burners, there’s a different method. Why two ways on one stove, I have no idea! To adjust on these other burners there is a target icon on the top of the stove (shown below). Touch it and it lights up indicating that the larger radius is on.

Easy, right?! But when you think you have only the smaller radius to work with you will feel like a German master chef once you’ve figured this one out!

If you’ve never used a glass stovetop before, here are a few other tips:

Never place anything heavy on the stovetop. It’s still glass after all! Also, even if the top appears to hold the weight at first, it can damage the top leading it to crack the next time it’s heated.

Flat-bottomed pots and pans will conduct heat the most effectively. Avoid pans with rounded edges for better heat conduction. Avoid cast iron since the bottom of these pans are very rough and can damage the stovetop.

Avoid spilling! HA! Or clean up as soon as possible. Depending on what spilled, it might be very hard to impossible to remove after it has heated and dried.